House of Babenberg

The House of Babenberg was the ruling noble family of the Duchy of Austria from 976 to 1246. The family took its name from Bamberg, Franconia in what is now the German state of Bavaria, and the family would rule Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Styria. In 1177, Leopold V of Austria took power, and he would emerge as one of the most powerful Babenberg rulers; he took part in the Third Crusade (even holding King Richard the Lionheart of England as a prisoner briefly in 1193) and acquired Styria in the will of Ottokar IV of Styria. Leopold VI of Austria, who became duke in 1198, fought in Spain, Egypt, and Palestine against Moors and Saracens, and Vienna became the center of German culture under his rule. Unfortunately, his son Frederick II of Austria would grow too proud of his father's marriage to a Byzantine princess, and he fought several wars against Bavaria, Bohemia, and Hungary. His death at the Battle of the Leitha River in 1246 ended the Babenberg family, leading to a succession crisis that would result in the House of Habsburg taking over Austria for over 600 years.